In the Pipeline: 11/28/12

Very exciting in my house this morning. I told my kids they could have any new toy they could get their hands on…as long as they picked it from their toy box. Welcome to the Obama Administration’s gulf lease sale.Fuel Fix (11/27/12): “A 10-year moratorium on drilling within 1.4 nautical miles of either side of that maritime boundary was initially set to expire in January 2011 but was extended until January 2014. Although companies were allowed to submit bids for blocks in the area subject to U.S.-Mexico talks, they won’t be opened during the November sale, and they may never be opened at all.”

Wind power makes me lose sleep as well.National Review (11/27/12): “In the lawsuit, the residents claim that the noise produced by the turbines on the 74-megawatt facility causes headaches and disturbs their sleep. Some of the residents say they have abandoned their homes because of the noise. Others are claiming that the project has hurt their property values.”

A rational person would support the Keystone project (like about 75% of Americans). An ideologue (like the President) would oppose it, because it is contrary to his view of the trajectory of history. A leader (like Senator Barrasso) would advocate for it, because it means more economic growth, more jobs, more energy security.Star Tribune (11/27/12): “The politics surrounding this decision should also be over,” he said. “If the president is serious about improving our economy and helping America become an energy independent nation, he’ll approve the Keystone XL pipeline immediately.”

Only in the land of the 800 billion dollar “stimulus” could a 2.3 million dollar carousel be built essentially without comment. Keep in mind, that doesn’t even count the cost of the solar panels (which were donated by PEPCO and paid for by its ratepayers). At this rate, maybe they should replace the hand painted endangered animals with hand-painted unemployed Americans. Washington Post (11/26/12): “The Smithsonian’s National Zoo is opening a new solar-powered carousel with hand-carved, hand-painted figures representing many endangered animals.”

Crossfitter by night? I don’t even know what that is. But this dude should forget that and preach on.J. Justin Wilson (11/26/12):“On Point’s host, Tom Ashbrook, warned that the water used for fracking is water we can’t “use for crops” and even went so far as implying that the water used for fracking was contributing to the dropping water levels in the Mississippi River. Something didn’t add up. Americans have a problem comprehending big numbers and I decided to crack out my trusty TI-83 and figure this out.”

Well now…Princeton University (11/27/12): “The United States could eliminate the need for crude oil by using a combination of coal, natural gas and non-food crops to make synthetic fuel, a team of Princeton researchers has found.”

Back-Door “Green Energy” Coercion, the San Francisco treat. Wanna bet Queen Nancy will opt-out? Master Resource (11/26/12): “Thousands of San Francisco residents may be sucked into a green energy plan that will raise their electricity rates 77 percent without their knowledge or consent. Beginning next spring, half of the city’s 375,000 residential ratepayers will automatically be enrolled in CleanPowerSF – unless they take action to opt out of the program.”